Parmenides

515 BC - Born in Elea, a Hellenic city on the southern coast of Italy.

- His only known work, conventionally titled 'On Nature' is a poem, which has only survived in fragmentary form.

- Parmenides' considerable influence on the thinking of Plato is undeniable, and in this respect Parmenides has influenced the whole history of Western philosophy, and is often seen as its grandfather.

- Parmenides is credited with a great deal of influence as the author of an "Eleatic challenge" that determined the course of subsequent philosophers' enquiries. For example, the ideas of Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Leucippus, and Democritus have been seen as in response to Parmenides' arguments and conclusions.